Our picks this week. Click the links to order from Amazon.
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Wild Is The Wind, Nina Simone's sixth album for Philips, has all the variety her work for the label was known for-from the minimal title track to the traditional folk song "Black Is The Color Of My True Love's Hair" to the banned-on-radio "Four Women". In 2020, the album was ranked 212 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Verve's Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
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When he first came on the scene, Phil Woods was often referred to as “The New Bird,” in a nod to the legendary Charlie Parker. A testament to his genius on the saxophone to be sure. But while obviously indebted to Parker - as all modern jazz saxophonists of a certain era were - there is no question that Phil Woods was an original. After earning a degree in music from Juilliard in the early 1950’s, Woods found himself in the orbit of the great Quincy Jones. At Jones’ invitation Woods joined Dizzy Gillespie’s infamous Jazz Ambassadors - a tour sponsored by the US State Department as part of a global cultural diplomacy initiative - and subsequently became a member of Jones’ own touring band. This recording, his 9th album as a band leader, consists entirely of Woods’ five-part Rights of Swing Suite. An ambitious large-scale composition based solidly on jazz traditions. A culmination of the influences the then 30 year artist had absorbed. Arguably considered one of Woods finest recordings, the record features a stellar section made up of Wood’s fellow Quincy Jones band members. (It should be noted that these same musicians, for the most part, are also the section on Benny Bailey’s Candid Records recording, Big Brass, recorded a a few months prior in November of 1960). Recorded at the Nola Penthouse Studios in New Your City on two dates in January and February of 1961, and conducted by Quincy Jones. The LP includes extraordinary liner notes by Candid A&R man and producer Nat Hentoff, and in-depth commentary from Woods himself, giving a context and insight that adds to the experience of hearing these extraordinary performances. A1. Prelude And Part 1 7:00 A2. Part II (Ballad) 7:38 A3. Part III (Waltz) 5:39 B1. Part IV (Scherzo) 11:19 B2. Part V (Presto) 7:17
In 1963, a 21-year-old welder with dreams of becoming a full-time singer-songwriter, auditioned for one of Jamaica’s new elite record producers, Leslie Kong, owner of the recently launched Beverley’s Records label. After performing a number of original compositions, a deal was secured and within weeks the first of Desmond Dekker’s many 7” singles hit Kingston’s record stores. The record, which coupled two of his own songs, ‘Honour Your Mother And Father’ and ‘Madgie’, became an instant best-seller and heralded the beginning of a long and immensely successful run of hit singles by Dekker throughout the remainder of ska era and well beyond. This 2xCD set showcases both sides of Dekker’s first twenty singles for Kong’s esteemed Beverley’s label that set him on the path to international stardom. Presented in a stylish fold out digipack, the collection includes a 12 page booklet featuring fascinating and insightful sleeve notes from music journalist Winston Smith.
First appearing on TV screens in September 1968, Joe 90 was a unique nine year old boy with the ability to absorb the brain patterns of top experts enabling him to become the most special agent of W. I. N. (World Intelligence Network). Whilst there are arguably better-known scores amongst Barry Gray's sublime catalogue of work with the Andersons, the composer's work for Joe 90 is in many ways the most consistent and inventive selection he ever wrote. Developing a theme for the new series was always the musician's starting point, and for Joe 90, the pop charts breezed into Gray's studio, with an opening tune featuring a genuine groove. Mixing Gray's inventive electronics with 60s "surf rock" guitars was an inspired decision. It is no wonder that this piece has gone on to enjoy a second life as a Northern Soul disco floor-filler. For episodic incidentals, Gray was freed from the detached unearthly premise of Captain Scarlet and able to bring back a playful sensibility and a more mature musical palette which are amply illustrated in this 24 track collection. Double "Jet Car Green" Vinyl.
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